British talent bag raft of nominations in Oscar race

LONDON (Reuters) - British films and talent were nominated for a slew of Oscars on Tuesday, securing most of the picks in the best actor category, several entries for best film as well for many technical categories.

Britons Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman and Daniel Kaluuya were nominated in the leading actor category for their roles in “Phantom Thread,” “Darkest Hour,” and “Get Out” respectively.

British actress Sally Hawkins was nominated for her leading role performance in dark fantasy “The Shape of Water,” while British “Phantom Thread” actress Lesley Manville was nominated for a supporting performance.

“Great to see a host of cracking British contenders in this year’s Oscar nominations lineup,” Matt Hancock, Secretary of Date for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, posted on Twitter.

World War Two drama “Dunkirk” received the second-most nominations overall, with eight including a directing nomination for Christopher Nolan, trailing Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” which received 13.

Irish actress Saorise Ronan was also nominated for her leading performance in “Lady Bird”,

Best Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

“How long before the British media start to claim Saoirse Ronan following her Oscar nomination?” user Ryan O’D asked on Twitter.

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri,” helmed by British director Martin McDonagh, was nominated in the best film category, and star Frances McDormand was nominated for best leading actress, though McDonagh was not nominated for directing the critically acclaimed film.

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Oldman has already won a Golden Globe and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for his performance as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour”, though he faces stiff competition from three-time Oscar winner Day-Lewis, among others.

In recent years, Britain has produced films that have dominated the prestigious awards, with Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” winning eight Oscars in 2009, and Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech,” taking four major awards in 2010.

Eric Fellner, nominated for his role in producing “Darkest Hour,” told Reuters that government subsidy had helped to shore up the industry and allowed British talent to succeed on the global stage.

“(Subsidy) made a massive difference. And that’s why you’re seeing so many people in so many different departments that are British, working on the biggest and smallest films all around the world and getting accolades like Oscar nominations today.”